Connectivity Problems
by Velocitic-Heights
Summary: Kaneki gets himself a Virtual Reality Console. It's more trouble than it's worth.
1. Welcome to Gaiasphere!

"I still can't believe you went out and bought this thing just because the girl you're crushing on has one."

"It's not like I got it just for that, Hide!" Kaneki sputtered. "I've got plenty of reasons, like how it improves your sleep, and improves reflexes and memory, and…"

"Like that matters! You just went out and bought a VR console," Hide continued, "Which is crazy expensive, I don't know how you could afford it, because you want to impress a girl you've never talked to."

"When you put it that way…" Kaneki mumbled.

"Man, I feel lame. I've been telling you to get one for ages! Do you listen? No. But then you go get one at the drop of a hat. I've never even met this chick!" Hide said, gesturing wildly. "I see how it is. You'd ditch your childhood friend for a girl!"

"Hide!" Kaneki hissed. "Keep it down! You're bothering other people!"

"Fine, fine, you party pooper. I've got to go to work now, but make sure you friend me on Gaiasphere! Shoot me a PM while you're at it."

Kaneki waved before turning around. Sighing, he hefted his newest purchase: a brand new Virtual Reality Console.

The Virtual Reality Console, more commonly known as the VRC, was the newest in virtual reality technology. It was a headset, meant to be worn when asleep, and boasted the fastest, most seamless transition from sleep to virtual reality, and maintained the strongest connection. As a result, it was head-and-shoulders above the next leading console, and cost much, _much_ more.

Because of his limited budget, Kaneki had put off buying it for a while, in spite of Hide's constant pleading. Though he could have used his savings, he had been torn, and the fact that Rize had one was the concluding factor.

Rize Kamishiro. A patron of the same book store as Kaneki, and a few years older than him. Kaneki had only known her name for a few weeks, when he had overheard her conversation with a friend. Kaneki grimaced. If Hide had known that Kaneki had 'overheard' her, he'd never hear the end of it. She was certainly very beautiful, but that wasn't why Kaneki felt drawn to her. When he'd first seen her, she was reading the same book as him. Not only that, but she'd looked up and met his gaze. Then she _smiled_.

Even now, Kaneki felt a burst of warmth when he thought of her smile. She could have averted her gaze, she could have looked disgusted, but she had _smiled_. Maybe he was overreacting. After all, she was the first girl who had looked at him in that way since… well, ever. But Kaneki was sure. Even after their first encounter, Rize had remained as lovely as she'd seemed when Kaneki first saw her; her smile had remained as radiant as ever.

So, when he had heard that she played Gaiasphere, Kaneki jumped at the opportunity to have something in common, even if he might never see her in-game. So, he went to the store immediately and got the newest model of the VRC.

Now that the result of his impulsive decision was in his hands, Kaneki began to berate himself – after all, there was no guarantee that buying such an expensive console would help him at _all_ with his love life. He seldom played games, and how was he going to impress a girl by playing one? The receipt, taped neatly onto the box, crinkled as he shifted. He tamped down on his sudden desire to just go back and return the damn thing.

But... there was still a chance- a miniscule chance, sure- that he might see Rize in-game! Kaneki ignored the little voice in his head that told him he was such a sucker. (It sounded suspiciously like Hide.) Nodding decisively, he opened the door to his apartment and stepped in, toeing off his shoes.

The store attendant had recommended that Kaneki test the VRC, so that if there were any problems, he could bring it in for exchange as soon as possible. But it was four in the afternoon, and Kaneki doubted that setup would take all that long. He hummed. Maybe he could take an afternoon nap, and wake up in time for dinner.

His phone suddenly rang, and Kaneki reached for it, setting the VRC aside.

"Hello?"

"Yo, Kaneki."

"Aren't you supposed to be at work, Hide?" Kaneki asked, surprised.

"I'm on break. When are you planning to play Gaiasphere?"

"I hadn't decided, why?"

"Why don't you amuse yourself for an hour or so before starting? I'll be done work by then, I'll even spare time from my busy, busy schedule to show you the ropes."

"Uh, sure. I need to charge the VRC first anyway."

"Sweet. Later." Hide hung up as abruptly as he had called. Kaneki huffed, knowing that if anyone else had done that, Kaneki would, at the very least, be miffed. Hide meant well, though, so Kaneki couldn't bring himself to be angry. In fact, what he was feeling was dangerously akin to fondness.

Putting his phone aside, Kaneki carefully opened the box and lifted out the headset, setting it _gently_ on the bed. He plugged it in and made sure it was in no danger of falling. This was by far the most expensive item he had ever bought, and the warranty didn't extend to ordinary accidents or everyday wear and tear. If he dropped it, he'd be forking over a ludicrous amount of money just to get it _looked at._

He flipped open the booklet that rested at the bottom of the box, labelled 'Safety Instructions.' The first page had a disclaimer, followed by a chapter on the basic mechanics of the VRC, basically a reassurance to customers that the device was harmless. Kaneki skimmed the next chapter on safety restrictions, and easy instructions on how to operate the VRC.

In the manual, there were a few games recommended for VRC, with encouragement to at least try every game. Clearly, those games lacked the huge fanbase of Gaiasphere, and needed advertisements. Kaneki was surprised that there were other games on the VRC; most people bought it simply to play Gaiasphere, himself included. Kaneki was also surprised that those games would be included in the _safety manual_. Maybe the company didn't want to print another booklet?

There seemed to be mostly MMORPGs available. That was the original purpose of the VRC, after all: to create an immersive environment in which users could interact with, while providing sensory data.

There was, of course, Gaiasphere, the top VRMMORPG worldwide, boasting millions of players. It was the typical fantasy RPG, but with an incredible capacity for growth. Players could build cities and towns, create guilds, make friends, and even get married. Obviously, the marriages were only in-game. Hide had begun playing a few months ago, and immediately began pestering Kaneki to play. He was a level thirty… something or other, Kaneki couldn't remember. Apparently his class was 'the awesomest, ever!' and he demanded that Kaneki be there to watch his awesomeness in action. Kaneki was indulging him, though he was pretty sure Hide was exaggerating.

Call To Arms was a combat game that had a variety of modes: PvP, zombie mode, campaign… the list went on. Kaneki had seen the promotion videos, and from what he'd seen, it was incredibly gory and involved lots of blood. Not really his thing.

There was also Gates of Heaven, a creative building simulation, where players could build whatever they wanted, though the world had an imitation of real world physics. It was also popular, and had a fast-growing community. Rumour had it that the developers were going to include animals and the possibility for domestication in the next update.

Aside from those three, the other games weren't interesting. Kaneki didn't really feel like reading their summaries, because they seemed boring, yes, but mostly because the VRC had just beeped, signalling full battery charge.

Glancing at the clock, he was surprised that an hour passed so quickly. He unplugged the headset from the wall. Taking a deep breath, he input two hours into the alarm and carefully placed it over his head. He lay down and groped around for the switch. His fingers shook, and just barely found the slightly raised power button. Kaneki fumbled his first two tries, and swallowed before pressing firmly on the button.

Kaneki opened his eyes, and was struck by the dizzying feeling of being in two places at once: lying on his bed, and standing in a large, empty room. The feeling lingered for only a second, leaving him alone in the ornate room. It seemed to be empty.

"Are you a new player for Gaiasphere?" a voice said from behind him. Kaneki jumped, turning around slowly.

"Are you a new player for Gaiasphere?" the voice repeated impatiently. "Or are you a returning player?" Kaneki followed the voice, looking down to find... a rabbit.

A pink, very fluffy rabbit, that was tapping its foot as it pinned Kaneki with the most withering glare he'd ever received.

"We don't have all day, you know. So if you'd kindly answer me instead of gaping at me, I'd appreciate it."

Kaneki snapped back to attention. "Um, I'm a new player," he said, nervously. The rabbit was still glaring at him.

"Obviously. Please state your customer identification number. It's so that we may identify you."

"86547H3T."

"Welcome, Kaneki," The rabbit said, its tone brisk. "Did someone refer you to this game?"

"Yeah, his username is Naga, I think."

An avatar appeared next to the rabbit. "Is this the person you are referring to?"

Kaneki glanced at the character briefly. "Yes." It was definitely Hide, with… silver hair? He wasn't going to question it.

"Alright, we'll begin avatar creation. Please choose a race."

"A race?"

"Gaiasphere offers several different races users may choose from. Each race has different characteristics that may benefit a certain class. Races include humans, dwarves, elves, pixies, and many more. There are also many human-animal hybrids."

"Can you explain the class system?"

"At the beginning of the game, you will be able to choose your class by registering at the beginner training area. You may also obtain a secondary class after finishing the quest line, 'An Innate Ability,' which is unlocked at level 32."

"Do the races have different appearances?"

"Yes. Stats also vary by race."

"What about professions?"

"Professions may be obtained after completing the tutorial quests. They include cooking, smithing, crafting, alchemy… Need I go on?

"That's enough, thank you. Just let me think for a minute." Kaneki said, mulling over all the different races. Sure, there was something thrilling about being a nimble elf, or a fierce hybrid, but Kaneki secretly felt that he definitely wouldn't be comfortable in such a different body. He had just barely begun to feel comfortable in his own skin, after eighteen years of living in it. Wouldn't having to switch bodies all the time be disorientating?

"Have you come to a decision?" The rabbit said, beginning to tap its foot again.

"Can I modify my appearance as a human?" Kaneki asked, unsure.

"You may modify your height by 10 centimetres, your hair length and color, your eye colour, and your skin colour."

"Can I change my appearance in-game?"

"There are avatar changing items available for purchase, though those are limited to hair dyes and eye colour changes."

"Can I see a human avatar, five centimetres taller?" Kaneki requested, curious to see the results.

Next to the rabbit, an exact copy of Kaneki shimmered into existence. Then it grew slightly taller, still identical to him except for the height difference.

"I don't know, can you give him white hair or red eyes or something?" he joked, trying to get the rabbit to stop tapping its foot.

The rabbit didn't stop beating a cadence into the floor, but that avatar's hair and eye colour shifted. Kaneki looked at it, and felt a pang of something unidentifiable in his chest. This version of him made him feel distinctly uncomfortable, and a little… sad? Why did he feel sad all of a sudden? The avatar continued to stare lifelessly forward, oblivious to Kaneki's turmoil.

"I was joking!" Kaneki said quickly, feeling relief as the familiar dark hue of his hair returned. "I'll take the human avatar."

The bunny nodded. "Please choose a username."

Kaneki considered this. He wanted to get something cool, but also part of his interests. "Kafka?" he mused aloud, remembering the debut novel of his favourite author, Sen Takatsuki.

"Accepted. Registering customer 86547H3T as Kafka," the rabbit drawled. "Enjoy Gaiasphere."

"Wait, I still-" Kaneki began, before the floor dropped away from his feet.

[Lv. 1 Kafka has joined Channel 20!]

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><p>So, this is my first fanfiction. This might not be the most original idea, but I hope you do comment. Please. Reviews would be awesome.<p> 


	2. A Teacher and a Friend

"I still have questions to ask…" Kaneki trailed off, hand outstretched uselessly, before tipping over.

He hit the ground painfully, as expected. Groaning, he rolled into his back, shading his eyes from the bright sunlight. He was laying on… a field of grass? Kaneki yanked some blades of grass out of the ground, squinting at it suspiciously. It looked normal enough. Certainly not the man-eating plants Hide said there would be, but he suspected Hide was just pulling his leg. Again.

Kaneki pushed himself up to a sitting position, surveying his surroundings. He was in some sort of clearing, surrounded by trees. The scenery almost seemed to give off a cheerful vibe, a welcoming atmosphere. There were even birds chirping cheerfully in the background.

"Welcome to Gaiasphere!" a voice exclaimed loudly from behind Kaneki.

Kaneki then attempted to whirl around, completely forgetting he was sitting down, and ended up in a heap of limbs. There was a pregnant pause, before the clearing was flooded with the sound of giggles.

Kaneki's shoulder slumped. What was wrong with the people in Gaiasphere? They needed to _stop sneaking up like goddamn ninjas on innocent, unsuspecting players_. He untangled himself and glared balefully in the vague direction of the culprit.

Said culprit was doubled over in laughter, giggling uncontrollably. Upon closer inspection, it was a pixie girl, about thirteen years old.

"I'm so glad my pain is amusing to you," Kaneki said dryly, scrambling to his feet. He dusted himself off, huffing in mock anger.

"I'm sorry!" She huffed, reigning in her giggles. "It's, it's just that I've never seen anyone who managed to startle that badly! Um, let's start over. I'm Clover, your guide player."

"I'm Kan- I mean, Kafka," Kaneki corrected awkwardly. "Nice to meet you. What do you mean by guide player?"

"From your customer record, it doesn't seem as if you've played many games before, so I was assigned to help you with your tutorial quests. It's fine if you don't want help!" She added quickly. "I just thought, maybe you would have a little trouble, so I wanted to help out."

"No, no, I'd love the help!" Kaneki said. "I really have no idea what to do."

"I think we should start a party, just so we can keep track of each other," Clover suggested, fingers fidgeting on her clover-patterned dress. She ducked her head shyly.

"Good idea," Kaneki began, "Except I don't know how."

"Oh, just say 'menu' and it'll pop up. You can also set a unique gesture later on, but it's personal preference."

"Menu," Kaneki muttered. With a soft ping, the menu popped up. He poked at it cautiously, and it smoothly transitioned to the party window. Tapping 'Make Party', he glanced over at Clover. She seemed to be psyching herself up, whispering and nodding to herself. She noticed his gaze and stiffened, turning pink.

"S-so! Have you figured it out?" Her words came out slightly stilted. Kaneki resisted the urge to reach out and ruffle her hair.

"Yes, just send a request to you, right?"

Accepting his request, she turned and beamed at him. "You're picking this up really quickly! Good job!"

This time, Kaneki couldn't resist the urge to pat her on the head. He smiled kindly and said, "It's because I have a good teacher! I'm glad you helped me."

She blinked at him in surprise. Finally, she released her nervous grip on the hem of her dress, and cautiously grabbed his hand. "We should start heading over to the first town! It's this way."

Kaneki, letting Clover tug him onto the path, vaguely felt like he was forgetting something. He shrugged, guessing it wasn't too important.

Kaneki glanced around, taking in the scenery. He could see small paths branching off from the main road, some small, and some large. Only a few appeared on his map, though. Those roads tended to have signposts accompanying them, so perhaps they led to dungeons?

Closing his map, Kaneki once again marvelled at the realism Gaiasphere projected. The air was fresh, and the breeze even carried different scents. If he listened carefully, he could make out the excited voices of other players. The animals had their own subroutines, and all the sensory input he received, though artificial, had yet to clash with 'real life' information.

The environment was impressive, but more impressive was the player characters. When Kaneki had ruffled Clover's hair, what he felt was not only the expected fine strands under his fingers, but also the warmth of her body, and the minute, natural movements that constantly accompanied the body. Instead of leaving the sensation at just the basics, the developers of Gaiasphere were careful to include anything and everything a person might experience. Kaneki could see why Gaiasphere was such a popular game, now.

Kaneki snapped out of his musings as they arrived at a quiet-looking village. The players that were milling about didn't have fancy equipment or gear, so Kaneki guessed that this was a low-level area. He stepped through the gates, and immediately was confronted with a message.

[You have entered Reedtown! _Recommended level: 1-10_]

"Does this happen every time?" Kaneki asked, closing the window.

"Hm? Oh, your 'entering town' message? It only pops up the first time you enter an area." Clover seemed distracted, glancing over her shoulder.

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, nothing really! It's just that pixies and other fairy classes have higher vigilance than humans, and combined with my class, I get a little jumpy sometimes. It's the strangest thing, but I feel like something's about to happen."

"Wh-" Kaneki was cut off by a body ramming into him, knocking him over. Over Clover's shout of surprise, he heard a more familiar voice.

"Hey! Ka…Oh wait, what's your username? Whatever, I was trying to make a point. Hey! What took your lazy ass so long? Do you know how long I had to stand there, alone? Standing alone looks stupid! Think more about others, you good-for-nothing!"

"Naga," Kaneki cringed because that sounded _weird, _calling Hide by such an odd name_,_ "You're sitting on me."

"So I am!" Hide leapt up nimbly. He offered his hand, which Kaneki took gladly. Seriously, twenty minutes into the game, and he's fallen over twice.

"Are you two… acquainted?" Clover cut in, looking quizzically between the two.

"Yeah," Kaneki affirmed. "Um, it looks like he wants to talk to me for a bit, so would you be fine with waiting a while?"

"Okay, I'll wander around town. When you're done, just send me a PM." Clover waved, heading towards a nearby shop.

Hide elbowed him. "Are you a human?"

Kaneki turned to Hide, confused. "Yes? Is this a trick question?"

"Of all the different things you could be! You stick with human? I am so disappointed," Hide said, shaking his head.

"At least I don't have cat ears on my head."

"How dare you! I'll have you know that I'm a caipora!"

"You say that like I know what that means," Kaneki quipped.

"_Obviously,_ a fox-human hybrid. Tsk, tsk. What would you do without me?" Hide gestured expansively. "Oh wait, I still don't know your username."

"It's Kafka."

Hide gaped, before erupting into uproarious laughter. "Oh my god, you nerd, you named your avatar after that what's-his-face author's book?"

"Hey, your name is a fictional creature that isn't related to your avatar's race at all. I think I win the name game." Kaneki crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows.

"… Quiet, you."

Hide paused, seemingly messing around with his game menu. Kaneki still thought that looked weird. Poking at an intangible object was just…bizarre. Voice activated commands, party systems, what else did Gaiasphere have?

A system message appeared in front of Kaneki, startling him. He managed not to jump and peered at the display.

[Naga has sent you a friend request!]

[ Accept / Decline]

Kaneki tapped accept, smiling faintly at the triumphant music that played briefly.

"Okay, so now that we're friends, I'll go hang out elsewhere while you finish your tutorial quests. Try not to miss me too much!"

"… See you later."

Scanning the building around him, Kaneki looked for Clover. Didn't she go into that shop…? No? How about this one?

After affirming that Clover was not in any of the nearby shops, he sat down at the most distinctive feature he could see: the town's well. Sitting well away from the crafty vendors weaselling new players out of their money, Kaneki turned his attention to his game menu. Private message, private message, where was the PM menu? When he finally found the menu, he composed a quick message to Clover.

[From: Kafka]

[To: Clover]

[Subject: I'm ready to go]

[Sorry for making you wait! I didn't expect my friend to be here. I'll come to where you are, or maybe you should come to where I am. I'd probably get lost. I'm at the town's main well right now.]

As he clicked send, an amusing little animation popped up, of a little paper airplane flying into a mailbox. It was… surprisingly cute, and didn't really match the rest of the game interface's sleek design.

Kaneki idly began messing with his inventory. As far as he could tell, to equip armour, he just…tapped on equip? It seemed like the armour would swap out with whatever previous armour he had. Kind of weird, in his opinion. At least he wouldn't have to make a fool of himself with the more complicated-looking armours.

"Hi!" Kaneki looked up, spotting Clover making her way over, waving.

"… I just realized I forgot to tell you about the party chat!" Clover shook her head. "So basically you can talk to your party members privately. The option's in the party menu. Sorry."

"It's fine," Kaneki reassured, "Now I know where the PM menu is."

"Oh, right, menus." Clover sat down beside him. "Have you seen your stats yet? It's going to be very important during your time playing Gaiasphere."

Obligingly, Kaneki opened the character stats window.

Lv. 1 Kafka

No Title

[RACE] Human

[CLASS] None

[PROFESSION] None

[STR] 10

[DEX] 10

[INT] 10

[LUK] 10

[VIT] 10

[AGI] 10

[WIS] 10

"Is there a reason why my stats are all the same?" Kaneki asked.

"Your race is human, right? Humans are chosen because of adaptability. They can pretty much be any class they want, if they work on their stats a bit," Clover explained.

"What class are you?"

"Oh, I might as well show you my stats window. Then you can see stat builds and other stuff at the same time."

"Couldn't I just select you in the character menu to see your stats?"

"The character selection window only shows you stuff like my level, fame, and general things like that. Also, it's really, really rude to look at someone else's window without permission! You have to remember that!" Clover pretended to shake her fist at Kaneki, laughing quietly. Kaneki laughed along, noting that rule. After all, it wouldn't do to be rude. Even accidently. And Kaneki was pretty sure that he'd probably be beaten up, knowing this type of game.

Quickly, Clover brought up her stats window and motioned Kaneki over. He shifted closer, glancing over her shoulder.

Lv. 19 Clover

Good Samaritan

[RACE]Pixie

[CLASS] Shaman

[PROFESSION] Crafter Lv. 3

[STR] 12 (9 + 3)

[DEX] 28 (15 + 13)

[INT] 46 (31 + 15)

[LUK] 30 (23 + 7)

[VIT] 20 (14 + 6)

[AGI] 20 (10 + 10)

[WIS] 35 (20 + 15)

"A shaman? What's that?"

"Oh, the game lore is that a shaman is a person highly attuned to Gaia. We can sense danger and in higher levels, shamans can cast really strong spells. We don't have a lot of physical attack power, but we work well in a party. We can cast a lot of buffs, and we do a lot of support! So don't underestimate me!" Clover puffed her cheeks out, looking as if this was something she'd said many times. Kaneki laughed and ruffled her hair.

"I won't! I'm glad to have you protecting me."

Clover looked surprised, before smiling back.

"We should probably start you on your first quest. When do you log out?"

Kaneki checked the time. "Just under an hour and a half. I was planning to just start the game before dinner, then log on again when I slept."

"That gives us plenty of time to finish the first few quests! So, do you see how some of the NPCs seem to stand out a little more than the others?"

Kaneki looked in the direction she was pointing in. Some of the NPCs seemed to be doing simple, mundane things, but there was one that seemed more… in the forefront of things, rather than a background character. He nodded, and said, "That one by the armour shop seems like he's expecting someone. Is he one of the quest NPCs?"

"That's right! You might have to pick through a few dialogue options, but why don't you try asking him for a quest? I'll stay here, so if you need help, just call me over."

Kaneki walked over to the NPC in question, catching his attention.

"Hello! Are you new in town?" The NPC asked, smiling warmly.

"Ah, yes. My name is Kafka." Kaneki replied, only stumbling slightly over his name.

"Welcome, Kafka! I'm Bruno," The NPC continued. "I'm always happy to meet new travelers, and give them a few pointers."

"It's nice to meet you, Bruno. I'm definitely a new traveler, and also in need of a little help," Kaneki confessed.

"Oh, it's fine, we all start somewhere. In fact, here, have a few free potions!... Is what I'd like to say, but all mine got stolen by some animal…" Bruno trailed off, furtively glancing around, before leaning closer. "I think… it was that woman's cat. I've hated that cat since day one. It drives me crazy! It knocks over my stuff, steals my lunch, and now, it's stolen my potions. That's the last straw!"

Kaneki nodded sympathetically, looking at the cat. "How about… I get those potions back for you? I'll… spray the cat with water, or something. It'd teach the cat a lesson, and you'd get your potions back."

Bruno looked delighted. "You would do that for me? Thank you! I'll give you some of my potions as a reward, for your trouble."

[You have received the quest: Get My Potions Back!]

[NPC: Bruno]

[Reward: 10 Basic Health Potions, 10 Basic Mana Potions, 200 EXP]

[ Accept / Decline]

With a sense of accomplishment, Kaneki tapped accept.

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><p>Thank you to everyone who left a review! I'm afraid I'm a rather slow writer... I hope you'll stick around, though!<p> 


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